How not to catch your phantom

[dkeshish]

Hi guys I came across this video. I guess prop gaurds dont work. Lol
All kidding aside looks like some serious pain...
http://m.liveleak.com/view?i=8d9_1407980380

 

[UrAwFuL]

I've seen this clip a while back.

Definitely was a bad catch plus the carbon fiber props made it worse.

 

[noiseboy72]

1. Don't hand catch.
2. Use the supplied nylon line to complete the prop guard protection.
3. Learn to fly...

 

[planedr]

The name of the poster of that video looks familiar. Oh, hey that's me. lol

 

[dkeshish]

1. Don't hand catch.
2. Use the supplied nylon line to complete the prop guard protection.
3. Learn to fly...

Even better advice noiseboy #3 first #2 remove prop gaurds #3 no stitches or staples...
Some people swear here catching the phantom in air

 

[Mako79]

1. Don't hand catch.
2. Use the supplied nylon line to complete the prop guard protection.
3. Learn to fly...

Even better advice noiseboy #3 first #2 remove prop gaurds #3 no stitches or staples...
Some people swear here catching the phantom in air

catch landing isn't hard. Common sense is required though.
Don't use carbon props for catching.
Always use a lanyard. How else can be power it down?

 

[noiseboy72]

I fitted taller and wider landing gear to keep the gimbal well clear of the ground and land it on my flight case. There is a sense of achievement when you clean land it dead centre of the case

I have to fly with prop guards if I want to fly around at work. Part of my agreement with the boss! Plus, I can't see which way it is facing unless I can see the brightly painted front guards when you get a few hundred metres away! VRS is not such a problem in the cooler, denser air of the UK and you soon learn to recognise if things are getting unstable and move forward out of trouble.

Maybe its my time flying conventional RC helicopters, but the thought of hand catching scares me a little bit. Which hand do you take off the controller and still keep control?

Still, each to their own

 

[Codacious]

Thats crazy, don't stick you hand in there I guess. I hand catch all the time now! I flew today and it was way too windy to have a safe landing. The wind was fine on take off, but a downburst from a near by thunderstorm caused some heavy gust. I just brought it back down at 30% to give myself enough time to play around and get it right where I want it before I snatch it. Sucks for that guy big time.

 

[Happyflyer]

Too bad that multi viewed, popular video did not show just how he grabbed his quad. Because a landing leg grab can be done without any problem if done correctly. As Codacious stated having the wind pick up is when I grab mine or if I took off in a very sandy location. The "cut" person must have done a top or arm grab. Not too smart.

 

[HarryT]

catch landing isn't hard. Common sense is required though.
Don't use carbon props for catching.
Always use a lanyard. How else can be power it down?

It's very easy. Reach up and catch a landing strut with one hand. Pull the stricks down and together with the other. No lanyard needed.

 

[phantomguy]

Or better yet, catch with one hand and simply put throttle stick in full down position for 3 seconds. No need to touch non throttle stick

 

[HarryT]

Or better yet, catch with one hand and simply put throttle stick in full down position for 3 seconds. No need to touch non throttle stick

That doesn't always work. The engines will only shut off on minimum throttle if the Phantom thinks it's landed.

 

[OI Photography]

Or better yet, catch with one hand and simply put throttle stick in full down position for 3 seconds. No need to touch non throttle stick

That doesn't always work. The engines will only shut off on minimum throttle if the Phantom thinks it's landed.

True, if you're going to hand-catch you should grab it right after it descends to the necessary height and hold it for a quick second so it knows it's stopped, then drop the throttle and hold it.

I've tried doing it with the CSC but it can get awkward real fast

Great vid on hand-catching a Phantom:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T21LrlYW ... rVhiOEtGjQ

 

[BigTulsa]

Or better yet, catch with one hand and simply put throttle stick in full down position for 3 seconds. No need to touch non throttle stick

That doesn't always work. The engines will only shut off on minimum throttle if the Phantom thinks it's landed.

True, if you're going to hand-catch you should grab it right after it descends to the necessary height and hold it for a quick second so it knows it's stopped, then drop the throttle and hold it.

I've tried doing it with the CSC but it can get awkward real fast

Great vid on hand-catching a Phantom:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T21LrlYW ... rVhiOEtGjQ

With the vision, it's hard to explain how I do it, but if there's no equipment in the way in between the skids, I'll come up underneath and with my right hand, I'll grab the left hand skid bottom runner (if looking at the quad from behind) with fingers pointing away (to the left) then rotate my arm in such a way that my right forearm allows the right skid to rest on it. This has not failed me. However, the only times I will hand land these is when the wind is a little high (yesterday this happened to me).

 

[Mako79]

catch landing isn't hard. Common sense is required though.
Don't use carbon props for catching.
Always use a lanyard. How else can be power it down?

It's very easy. Reach up and catch a landing strut with one hand. Pull the stricks down and together with the other. No lanyard needed.

Um no!
Lanyard always for catching!
Right hand to catch the landing gear. The controller rests against belly and the FREE left hand to power it down.
This is where the person in the video fails. He grabs the lawnmower then panics, and realises he has no way of power it down. Very difficult trying to hold the controller and pushing down or activating CSC with one hand. Try it. Unless you have the controller on the ground and kneeling - very unorthodox.

I catch mine always!
I check surroundings so I don't trip.
I check that recording has stopped.
I make sure the wind is behind me so if a gust comes, the phantom doesn't take my face.
I make sure I'm looking at the battery so in an emergency, the orienteering isn't confusing.
I always have left hand ready on the stick to shut down or power up incase of emergency. In an open field, avoidance is best upwards.
And finally, I will let it hover and walk up to it catch it an arms reach infront and above my head. This prevents accidents with kids and animals trying to jump at it (highly unlikely - prevention is best!).

 

[Silverminer]

I think hand-catching is the only way to go. My plan pretty much parallels Mako79's.
1) I start by getting the wind to my back, hopefully with an open area downwind (in front) of me. If a wind gust comes up the copter will (usually) be blown AWAY from you, not towards you.
2) I yaw the copter to face AWAY from me as I lower it, keeping both hands on the sticks. If a gust comes up, simply push both sticks full-up and the copter will go up and away from you.
3) Lower the copter until it's about 1 foot or so above your head and several feet in front of you.
4) Remove your right hand from the sticks and walk toward the copter.
5) Be ready to push the left stick full-up if anything gets weird (wind gust, drifting, etc.)
6) Reach up and firmly grasp a skid.
7) Hold level, hold still. Pull left stick fully down while the motors cut out.

If you grab properly, you can tilt the copter to various angles and even with the motors trying to regain level you won't lose grip. So far, no problems but one never knows! If you want to be really safe, land the copter rather than grab it. But if you're going to do that, wear safety glasses so that when the copter tips over due its high center-of-gravity and the blades shatter into projectiles, you're protected.

 

[ProfessorStein]

I finally watched this video (really didn't want to... but the curiosity finally got to me).

It doesn't even look like he was trying to catch the quad, it almost looks like it just ran into him as he was trying to gain altitude.
Really hard to tell, but if you hold your own arm to your Phantom (while it's not on, obviously) so one of the props is against the top of the arm where the wound in the video is positioned, it's nearly impossible for your hand to be anywhere near any portion of the bird that you could possibly grab onto... in fact, your hand would typically be pointing back toward your body.

It almost seems like this was a defensive wound... like the Phantom suddenly lunged toward him and he held his arm up to protect himself.

But, who knows. That's pretty nasty, either way. I certainly wouldn't just sit there trying to get video of the blood gushing out, if it happened to me.


Oh... and I always use a solid landing pad. Maybe not as sure as a hand-catch, but it's worked for me so far.

 

[noiseboy72]

I have to say, I have never tipped over on landing - and that's with taller legs and prop guards, moving the centre of gravity even further up.

The trick is to land with a small amount of forward motion into the wind, "flaring" just before landing, so all forward motion is lost and the 'bird settles cleanly onto its legs.

If you have any experience flying conventional R/C helicopters, it becomes second nature, but I have to say, can be more tricky to the higher centre of gravity.

If you are tipping as you land, you are probably hurrying the procedure or shutting off the motors before the quad has settled.

 

[WPSPETE]

I think its good to practise both. I hand catch most of the time, if I have a good landing pad I will set it down. I tired landing on the case today and did it twice with no problem. Just have to take your time.

 

[gunslinger]

I'll always hand catch and have done so seventy or so times. You really should have a lanyard on your controller and it's totally unnecessary to do a CSC...

Keep the bird downwind of you, no matter how strong the wind, and bring it down a few feet above your head. Let it level out and once it looks fairly stable, slowly and carefully grab the left skid as high up as you can and hold on. Once you have a good grip, bring the left stick all the way down for a few seconds and she'll shut down.

It's very simple once you establish your own safety regimen and consistently stick with it. You want to grab it high up on the skid as there's less chance of damaging the skid.

-slinger